My little town is reeling. There was a murder early Sunday morning at the town's Community Center. It surprised me when I heard about it because I drove by there about 10:30 Saturday night on the way home from the theater and I don't recall any cars being in the parking lot there. But it was snowing and I was focused more on the road than what was going on at the Center.
Right now there are more questions than facts in this case. What is known is that town officials (who run the Community Center) rented it out to a group called "Black Excellence" that they had been told was comprised of African-American college students. Now that seems odd that a group of college students (no matter what race) would come all the way out here to rent a hall when there are plenty of options closer to area universities. What the officials apparently did not know is that this group has such a bad reputation that nobody will rent to them. They and we were about to find out why.
Despite the assurances that BE would provide its own security at the event, things got out of hand sometime after midnight, with people coming from as far as Texas. It is not clear what happened next but a fight broke out. People were taking the tables and tearing them up and using the legs as clubs. AND--there was at least one gun. One man is in the hospital from being beaten half to death (it's not sure if he will make it) and another lies dead from gunshot wounds. The shooter is still on the loose and nobody knows who it was or if they do they ain't sayin'. We can all count ourselves very thankful that the (white) police officer who responded to the 911 call did not do any shooting, otherwise we would be visited by the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (who is in Flint right now dealing with another matter). And the name "Black Excellence", instead of being a thing of pride, will have a stink for years to come in the noses of village residents. Nothing like giving ammunition to the bigots, although I think most whites here realize that this group does not represent the majority of African-Americans around here.
But this really isn't about race. It's about guns and violence of which there has been a lot said lately. There was either one gun too many at the Community Center or there weren't enough guns. We keep hearing from the gun lobby that we need to abolish gun-free zones. We need to have the right to carry everywhere because of a situation like this. So that we can save the day. Well, then, why did they have to resort to tearing up tables? (My first thought when I heard about this is that so-and-so is going to be pissed because he's awfully territorial about those tables. I don't think they are going to get their deposit back either.) Why didn't security step in? In Mein Kampf, Hitler made an observation about these would-be heroes, that when they find themselves put to this very test all of them will prove to be cowards, unable to fire a shot. Is that what happened here?
I don't believe in ghosts but I do believe that our beloved Community Center, scene of so many happy events, has been ruined by this murder. Long after the blood has been cleaned up and the crime scene tape removed, it will still cast a pall over any future events. And the town officials have a lot to answer for. There is a meeting in two weeks; I expect that it will be an angry one.
Right now there are more questions than facts in this case. What is known is that town officials (who run the Community Center) rented it out to a group called "Black Excellence" that they had been told was comprised of African-American college students. Now that seems odd that a group of college students (no matter what race) would come all the way out here to rent a hall when there are plenty of options closer to area universities. What the officials apparently did not know is that this group has such a bad reputation that nobody will rent to them. They and we were about to find out why.
Despite the assurances that BE would provide its own security at the event, things got out of hand sometime after midnight, with people coming from as far as Texas. It is not clear what happened next but a fight broke out. People were taking the tables and tearing them up and using the legs as clubs. AND--there was at least one gun. One man is in the hospital from being beaten half to death (it's not sure if he will make it) and another lies dead from gunshot wounds. The shooter is still on the loose and nobody knows who it was or if they do they ain't sayin'. We can all count ourselves very thankful that the (white) police officer who responded to the 911 call did not do any shooting, otherwise we would be visited by the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (who is in Flint right now dealing with another matter). And the name "Black Excellence", instead of being a thing of pride, will have a stink for years to come in the noses of village residents. Nothing like giving ammunition to the bigots, although I think most whites here realize that this group does not represent the majority of African-Americans around here.
But this really isn't about race. It's about guns and violence of which there has been a lot said lately. There was either one gun too many at the Community Center or there weren't enough guns. We keep hearing from the gun lobby that we need to abolish gun-free zones. We need to have the right to carry everywhere because of a situation like this. So that we can save the day. Well, then, why did they have to resort to tearing up tables? (My first thought when I heard about this is that so-and-so is going to be pissed because he's awfully territorial about those tables. I don't think they are going to get their deposit back either.) Why didn't security step in? In Mein Kampf, Hitler made an observation about these would-be heroes, that when they find themselves put to this very test all of them will prove to be cowards, unable to fire a shot. Is that what happened here?
I don't believe in ghosts but I do believe that our beloved Community Center, scene of so many happy events, has been ruined by this murder. Long after the blood has been cleaned up and the crime scene tape removed, it will still cast a pall over any future events. And the town officials have a lot to answer for. There is a meeting in two weeks; I expect that it will be an angry one.
